Red Sox fall to Yankees, 9-6

Thursday

May 10, 2018 at 1:41 AM

Yanks get to Porcello early, Kimbrel late

NEW YORK -- At the most, the Red Sox will leave the Bronx with just a share of first place in the American League East.

The Yankees assumed the lead and positioned themselves for a series sweep in their rocking home park Wednesday night, stinging their ancient rivals in the late innings to extend their blistering recent run.

Brett Gardner’s third extra-base hit of the evening, a two-run triple to deep left center in the bottom of the eighth, ensured the night’s final lead change. Aaron Judge’s two-run homer to center padded the margin.

That both decisive blows came off Boston closer Craig Kimbrel made it all the sweeter. New York sent the sellout crowd of 47,088 home happy thanks to a 9-6 win, one that took on something of a postseason feel.

Kimbrel inherited a pair of runners from Matt Barnes with one out in the bottom of the eighth, attempting to record his first career five-out save. He didn’t retire a Yankees’ hitter before losing the lead, as Gardner slashed a drive to deep left center and Judge lined a missile into Monument Park beyond the wall in center. It was a 6-5 deficit that turned into a three-run cushion, and Aroldis Chapman struck out the side for New York in the ninth.

“I’ve got to come in and get outs,” Kimbrel said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the eighth or ninth inning, especially in situations like that.”

The Red Sox were in position for a 15th come-from-behind win of the season thanks to Hanley Ramirez. His two-run blast to the second deck in left field put Boston ahead for the final time in the top of the seventh, his first home run since April 14. The Red Sox failed to add on after a Mitch Moreland walk and an Eduardo Nunez double to left starting the top of the eighth, exactly the momentum change the Yankees required coming to bat in the bottom half.

“You have to put the ball in play, regardless of the result,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We didn’t and we paid the price there.”

New York won its eighth straight game, best in the big leagues, and its 11th in a row in this park. That’s the best run at home enjoyed by the Yankees since moving across the street in 2009, and making it an even dozen in Thursday’s series finale will give New York a two-game lead atop the division.

“They’re playing good baseball,” Kimbrel said. “It seems like they’re doing all the small things at the right time.”

The Yankees required just four pitches from Rick Porcello to get on the board in this one. Gardner missed a home run by a couple feet, settling for a leadoff double that hit the fence in right center, and Judge grounded an RBI single up the middle to make it 1-0. It was the first of a season-high five earned runs allowed by Porcello, the roughest of his eight starts to date.

“I just wasn’t locating the ball the way I wanted to,” Porcello said. “I just didn’t pitch well.”

Boston responded in the top of the second through their hottest hitter, as Moreland followed a single by Xander Bogaerts with a two-run homer to right center. It was the fourth time in five games Moreland has gone deep, with the part-time starter’s performance making the case for more time in the lineup.

New York struck back with three more in the third, two courtesy of Tuesday’s hero. Giancarlo Stanton followed his two-homer game in a 3-2 win by whacking a two-run double to right, and a sacrifice fly to center by Aaron Hicks made it a 4-2 lead.

Two single runs were exchanged from there, with Andrew Benintendi driving a solo homer to right in the top of the fifth and Gary Sanchez lining a sacrifice fly to center in the bottom. That left things at 5-3 into the sixth, and Nunez drove a sacrifice fly of his own to center to make it a one-run game. Ramirez appeared for a few brief moments to own the decisive swing, but the Yankees had other ideas.

“We’ve got to get outs,” Cora said. “We fell behind most of the hitters there, and we didn’t get the job done.”

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